Wishes
by Ninja1234
Summary: A series of songfics depicting character's feelings throughout the Heroes of Olympus books. Mainly dramatic and angsty, so watch out. Chapter 3: The Call by Regina Spektor starring Bianca di Angelo, daughter of Hades.
1. Annabeth Chase: In Dreams

**Hey, guys! It's me, and I'm back with another PJO fanfiction. **

**Basically, it takes place post-The Lost Hero. Annabeth is having trouble dealing with Percy's disappearance. How does she cope?**

**This is a sort of songfic to "In Dreams" by Lena Park (if you want to see the English lyrics, go to Youtube, search up the song, click on the one that says English dubbed, and press "captions.") If you want the full effect, listen to it while reading this. If you understand Korean, of course.**

**So, here it goes!**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I am not a rich middle-aged man making millions off of a book series. Nor am I a famous amazingly talented Korean singer.**

* * *

Smash.

Annabeth's dinner plate crashed to the wooden floor of the Athena cabin, the dull thud reverberating around the empty room. Sitting limply on her bed, she stared at her hands folded in her lap through teary eyes, purposely avoiding looking at the photographs pinned onto her bulletin above her desk.

"Come on."

This was Malcolm, her second-in-command. He knew when she was in one of her moods. Giving her a concerned look, he nudged the others out the door. "She needs some room."

They understood, and soon, the cabin was empty. Except for Annabeth.

The blonde teenager sulked on her bunk, subconsciously fingering her silver laptop. She stared down at her hands. "If only-" Her voice was rough, scratchy from having rarely been used in the past few months. She gazed down at the Greek Delta sign. "If only I could figure out a way to find- on the laptop- Percy," she whispered hoarsely.

_Percy._ The mere mention of his name made her lose her control. The tears she'd been blinking back flowed down her flushed, hollowed cheeks, gray eyes weary, pained and- what was the word?

Frightened. Annabeth Chase was frightened. Frightened of being the Camp's leader, frightened of the new prophecy, and, most of all, frightened of doing it alone. Alone.

Years ago, she would have said it proudly. She still remembered the beaming, clever little seven year old she used to be. She'd run away and hadn't been caught. She was the smartest girl for her age that many people had ever met.

"I can do it all by myself," the blonde used to say.

But not anymore. She needed _him_. Needed him desperately. She needed his laughs, his jokes, his insufferable behavior, his calmness in the face of death, his form sitting beside her when she needed comfort, his ignorant responses to her comments, his lips on hers-

"Oh, stop it!" Annabeth broke out of her reverie and chided herself harshly. "He's not here! He's not here and he most likely won't be. For a-" she faltered, blinking back more tears. "-a long, long time."

She stared at her laptop, opening a photo miserably, her face glistening from the effort it took not to break down. "A long time," she repeated.

Frowning, she opened her files. The picture was still on her laptop, just another reminder that Percy was so close, but yet- so far.

It was the two of them, right after the war had ended. He was grinning that lopsided smile that always made her heart melt. His dark hair was wild and untamed as usual, not that Annabeth ever minded. His orange t-shirt was wrinkled, and his jeans torn, like he'd rushed out of bed, but to Annabeth, this all made her like him even more. His sea-green eyes twinkled playfully, as if he was sharing a secret joke with the photographer.

With her arm looped through his, a grin equally wide, shining gray eyes, and braided blonde hair, was Annabeth. Her cheeks had been rosy that day, flushed from a date with Percy. Her beaming features differed so much from the sunken, pale mess it was now. The blonde daughter of Athena wondered how Percy would react if he knew how she was dealing with this.

* * *

_What should I say?_

_My heart is beating so fast_

_We're meeting again_

_Just like in the past, how we used to be_

* * *

A wretched, scared Annabeth, so unlike the confident facade she'd always tried to keep, went to bed in tears, rivers of salty water flowing down her face. The Argo II had malfunctioned. It would take at least three more weeks.

At least three more weeks until she could see Percy. Face-to-face.

Crying silently, she went under her covers and squeezed her eyes shut tightly, wanting to forget all of the pain she was going through. A Percy-withdrawn Annabeth was never good for anyone.

"Go to sleep!" she muttered fiercely. "Just...forget about it. Live with it. Just...find..." The daughter of Athena drifted off into a tear-filled rest.

She had more dreams of Percy again.

He was sitting on the beach, a checkered picnic table laden with sandwiches and lemonade underneath him. Smiling, he turned around to look at her, and waved his arm, inviting her over. It was their first date.

* * *

_I know that this a dream_

_At this moment_ _I'm not waking up_

_If I can fall asleep forever..._

_You're holding me_

_Like in the past_

* * *

Annabeth ran into the forest, wailing a flood from her eyes as she sat against a rock, burying her head in her hands. Her blonde hair, usually so meticulously brushed into a ponytail, was tangled in clumps around her face, damp from running.

* * *

_It was hard that time, you cheered me up_

_Holding my hands_

_Telling my exhausted mind to rest_

_Even now, your hands are warm like in the past_

* * *

She heard footsteps thumping closer. She looked up and saw a familiar face with black hair, green eyes, and mouth pursed with concern. Percy.

"What's wrong?" he asked, kneeling next to her.

Annabeth didn't answer.

Percy understood immediately. Sitting down, one rough, calloused hand taking hold of her tan, wet ones, he slung his other arm around her, pulling her close.

"It's okay," he murmured softly into her hair. "It's okay."

* * *

_This is probably a dream_

_But I won't let you know_

_I'll do really well_

_So you don't think of something else_

_Don't go anywhere else now_

_Just stay here with me_

_I won't wake up_

_I won't send you away anymore_

_Keep on holding me_

_Like in the past_

_It was hard that time, you cheered me up_

_Holding my hands_

_Telling my exhausted mind to rest_

_Even now, your hands are warm like in the past_

_Answer me_

_That you were missing me like I was missing you_

* * *

Annabeth wanted so much to stare up into those heart-wrenching green eyes, to tell him how much she missed him, how hard things were, to beg him to come back and never leave her again. But she knew that she couldn't. He wouldn't hear.

She wanted to tell him not to forget her, not to find someone else to fill in for her. But for now, she'd just live in this moment.

* * *

_Like a fool_

_You're looking at me, who's just treasuring this moment_

_With a pitiful smile_

_"I'll go first now"_

_You tell me apologetically_

_Like me, you too_

_Knew (That it was a dream)_

_Nevertheless, thank you for trying to meet me like this_

* * *

The campers dispersed from the evening campfire. Percy looked up.

Across from him, Annabeth fiddled with her hair, staring at her lap, feigning unawareness of her boyfriend's presence.

Grinning, he stood and walked over. "Hey."

Annabeth mirrored his smile as she gazed up at him. "Hey."

Percy sat down, one arm carelessly draped on her shoulders.

"CAMPERS!" Chiron's voice blared through the speakers spread around in the camp. "HARPIES COME AROUND IN TEN MINUTES."

Annabeth cursed. Chiron. "I guess we have to go now," she sighed.

Percy nodded. "Yeah." He quickly leaned over and kissed her softly. "Good night, Wise Girl." Then he stood up and left.

Annabeth stared after him.

* * *

_You're holding me_

_Saying that it's goodbye_

_I'll smile for you_

_I don't wanna send you away like this_

_You turn your back_

_Like that time_

_If I wake up from my dream_

_Once again, I'll probably be alone_

_You're going far away in the distance_

_But now I'm used to it_

_I'm going to cry now_

_I don't wanna send you away again_

_I can't see you_

* * *

Percy stared down at his girlfriend of one week. "It's school again now," he said grimly.

Annabeth nodded, trying to hide her disappointment. "I know."

Percy smiled teasingly. "Don't forget me in San Fran," he reminded her.

"Don't find some other girl at Goode," Annabeth retorted, also teasingly, but her eyes were worried. What if he did? What if he came back during winter break with a new girl on his arm?

Percy sighed, shaking his head at his girlfriend in front of him. "Why would I even _look_ at another girl when I already have the perfect one with me right now?" he said, as if he could read her thoughts. (Annabeth wouldn't be surprised if he could)

He pressed his lips to hers.

Annabeth didn't protest. This was the last day of summer break. School would start two days. As much as she hated it, she had to tell her amazing boyfriend goodbye.

Paul beeped the horn on his dented Prius at the bottom of the hill.

Percy broke away first. "I have to go," he told her.

Annabeth nodded numbly. "Bye."

The son of Poseidon trudged down the hill with one last wave.

"No!" Annabeth wanted to cry out. "Don't leave! Stay! D-don't leave me again."

But she stood, still as a stone, as Percy boarded his stepdad's Prius and gave her one final smile out the window.

* * *

Annabeth opened her eyes, squinting as the sun's rays lit her room, showing the first signs of daylight. She looked down.

Her laptop was still on.

She groaned internally. Another day without Percy. Annabeth wasn't sure if she could survive this one.

So many questions whirled around in her head. Where was he? On a quest again? Did he forget her? Was there another girl? So many things she desperately wanted to ask him.

"Oh, Percy," she whispered hoarsely, as if talking to his grinning face on her computer screen enabled communication with him. Drops of water welled up in her gray eyes. "Why did you have to go?"

* * *

_Now I open my eyes again_

_My heart feels so cold_

_Thank you_

_I love you_

_I'm okay, don't ever come back again_

* * *

**IT'S SO SAD! *breaks down into tears* Oh, Annabeth. HOW DID YOU SURVIVE NOT SEEING HIM FOR EIGHT MONTHS?** **Anyways, did you like it? Did you hate it? Did you cry too? Tell me what you think!**


	2. Reyna: Little House

**I'm back!**

**So, as soon as I finished the first one about Annabeth, I thought, why not make ones about the other girls. Maybe Reyna about Jason?**

**So I wrote this.**

**Ladies and Gentlemen, please enjoy "Little House" by Amanda Seyfried, starring our favorite Reyna, daughter of Bellona!**

**Disclaimer: * sighs * I don't own PJO. And I'm not Amanda Seyfried. But I will one day... hopefully.**

* * *

Reyna was crying.

_The _Reyna, daughter of Bellona, the goddess of war, praetor of the Twelfth Legion, was crying.

She hadn't been trying to, of course. It had been...spontaneous. After all, it was her job to stay strong for all of Camp Jupiter, to stay strong for her friends, to stay strong for... Jason.

"Jason," she whispered, as if that single beckon would bring him back. "Where are you?" She stood up and looked around. Where was _she?_

Oh, right. Jason missing. Crying. Running to Jason's house. Crying. Right.

"Jason," she repeated numbly. Her voice sounded hollow and helpless to her and she hated it. Desperation was a sign of weakness. Romans didn't show weakness. No, Romans were strong.

"I'm a Roman," she muttered fiercely. "Romans are proud, cold, tough, and don't show emotion..." She trailed off dejectedly, clambering onto her feet to start pacing around the room.

Photos, dusty and new, were tacked up onto the walls. Many times while looking, Reyna had found her old smile shining back at her. The smile that Jason had taken with him. The smile that was so alien to her now.

Abandoned praetor journals and papers were scattered sporadically on the floor, the desks, and the bed, the latter's covers thrown and tossed aside in a disarray. If any stranger had walked inside (not that they wouldn't get, you know, _attacked_ by the dogs), he or she would've thought that Jason had been missing for one hour, not one day.

The untidiness, the pictures, the emptiness- it took too much of an effort for the remaining praetor to suppress her emotions any longer. Wobbling shakily on her feet, she stumbled on her cape and collapsed at the foot of the empty bed, letting the tears fall.

"Jason," she whispered for a third time desperately, like it was her lifeline. Her glossy black hair, usually ever so carefully plaited and tied, was tangled in a dry black mess, shielding her obsidian eyes. Her voice broke. "Jason, where are you?"

* * *

_I love this place_

_But it's haunted without you_

_My tired heart_

_Is beating so slow_

_Our hearts sing less than_

_We wanted, we wanted_

_Our hearts sing 'cause_

_We do not know, we do not know_

* * *

The city lit fireworks that day. It was some veteran's birthday, a time of great jubilation and celebration. Everyone was outside, enjoying the lights and the fun, all serious issues forgotten. Just being happy.

Except for one.

Reyna had barricaded herself in the praetor's house. _Again._ Aurum and Argentum prowled in front of her door, standing guard. Many a venturing camper bolted screaming at the mercy of the two dogs' snapping jaws.

Reyna sat at her desk, absentmindedly twirling a pencil with her long, slender fingers. Her dark eyes were bloodshot, her eyelids puffy and drooping, her lashes fluttering jerkily, like her heartbeat. Unsteady. Uncertain. Unpredictable.

She groaned, burying her head in her hands. Her long hair tumbled down her shoulders like a wave.

She'd never felt more miserable.

Reyna _needed_ him. She needed his jokes, his constant upbeat attitude, his laughs, the way he would bump her shoulder and give her that special grin meant just for her...

But, most of all, she needed him.

* * *

_To light the night, to help us grow_

_To help us grow_

_It is not said, I always know_

* * *

"Any luck?" Reyna asked Gwendolyn apprehensively. It had been a week, and still no sign of Jason anywhere. She had been hoping that maybe, just maybe, Gwen knew something.

But her hopes were extinguished when the daughter of Ceres shook her head sadly, her blonde hair whirling around her head in the wind like a bright tornado. "I'm sorry, Reyna," she said, biting her lip. "I- Dakota and I- We've been trying, we really have-"

"I know you have," Reyna said, guilt washing over her. Here was someone like Gwen, taking the valuable time off of her packed schedule to look for clues leading to her missing praetor. And what did Reyna do?

Oh, right. Mope and do nothing.

"Thanks, Gwen. You're the best," Reyna curtly said. Nodding slightly, she headed back towards her house.

"No problem!" Gwen called after her. "And Reyna?"

She stopped in her tracks. "Yes?"

Gwen swallowed. The wind blew her long blonde hair in every direction. Her green eyes lit up with hope. "If you contact him," she said, "tell him to stay where he is. We will find him," she added for reassurance.

Reyna nodded again, quickly blinking away tears. No one could see her like this. She cursed at herself. "Toughen up!" she hissed. "You'll find him!"

Gwen frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Oh." Reyna blushed. "Not you, Gwen! Sorry. But, yeah, I'll tell him to stay put."

* * *

_You can catch me_

_Don't you run, don't you run_

_If you live another day_

_In this happy little house_

_The fire's here to stay_

_To light the night, to help us grow_

_To help us grow_

_It is not said, I always know_

* * *

"So, I'm just saying," Octavian declared to the Senate, "that right now might be a good time to reconsider upcoming Praetor Elections."

Reyna glanced at the legacy of Apollo stoically. "He's not gone," she told him coldly. "We'll find him."

Octavian opened his mouth in false surprise. "Oh, I could never mean that,_ Praetor_." He pronounced "Praetor" like a special case in need of further investigation. "Only that our other, Jason Grace, has, most unfortunately, not been with us for, what, five months now?"

"Three," Reyna corrected icily. Her eyes bored holes into the floor as she stared down. If looks could kill...

The augur waved his hand. "Close enough. Anywho, the legion has always operated best with _two_ praetors in leadership. With one gone, well-" the skinny scarecrow himself gave the daughter of war a furtive look of anticipation "-it's only a matter of time until the legion falls into great disrepair. Another election seems necessary."

"I see." Reyna scarcely moved her lips. Her hands were clenched at her sides, clutching the armrests of her chair to restrain herself. "And I suppose that you would like to have a part in this?"

His triumphant smirk infuriated Reyna, as if the battle was already won. "Oh, I have a few suggestions."

Reyna wanted _so badly_ to rearrange his smiling little face. But all she did was nod and say, "Very well. Senate dismissed."

* * *

_Please don't make a fuss, it won't go away_

_The wonder of it all_

_The wonder that I made_

_I am here to stay_

* * *

The warship hovered over the Field of Mars, waiting for the incoming Romans to stop and stare. It was definitely the most bizarre warship Reyna had ever seen. But then, she hadn't seen many warships since..._ that island._

This one was massive, about as long as multiple football fields put together, with full-blown cloth sails, intricate metal on the carefully carved wood, and, to top it all off, a giant dragon's head was nailed at the front. Its ruby-colored eyes seemed to follow the daughter of Bellona as she walked towards the impressive ship.

The ladder rolled down. The doors opened.

Reyna held her breath.

She saw a flash of purple. Her heartbeat quickened. Maybe it was a praetor's cape?

One foot slid down. Then another.

Slowly, inch by inch, a mass of purple and orange climed down the rungs. It flicked back its blonde hair. Reyna would know that person anywhere.

Jason. And he wasn't alone.

Reyna's exhilarated heart thudded and pulsed as she saw a second figure emerge.

It was a girl. A beautiful girl with feathers in her dark hair, Cherokee features, and a tank top with Hello Kitty designs. She was gorgeous.

_And she was holding hands with Jason._

Reyna thought she heard shattering glass. She felt her heart break off into millions of little shards. Here was Jason, the boy she'd searched tirelessly for day and night for eight whole months, alive and well. She should have been overjoyed.

But all her mind could process was the image of him and _that girl_ holding hands.

Jason didn't love Reyna back. And he never would.

* * *

_I am here to stay_

_Stay_

* * *

**I just gained a whole new respect for Reyna. Poor Reyna. She deserves a happy ending.**

**Review!**


	3. Bianca di Angelo: The Call

**HI!**

**SO sorry that I haven't updated on this story in SUCH A LONG TIME. But I was lacking inspiration for a while.**

**But now, I've got some!**

**Now, I know, a Chronicles of Narnia song for a Percy Jackson songfic? But I think that it actually fits the story quite well.**

**So, here is The Call by Regina Spektor starring Bianca di Angelo, daughter of Hades!**

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own PJO or the Bianca or Nico di Angelo. (But Nico will be mine! You hear that, fangirls? Heh heh... sorry)**

* * *

It_ started out as a feeling_  
_Which then grew into a hope_  
_Which then turned into a quiet thought_  
_Which then turned into a quiet word_

* * *

Even when in the Underworld, surrounded by moaning, wandering souls, and under the looming shade of one of her stepmother's pomegranate trees, Bianca di Angelo still wished.

She wished about everything: what she'd done, what she'd wanted to do, what she could have done instead. Even all the little things, like tying a shoelace at that exact moment, or walking another way to the park, or even saying the right things.

She wished that she could take it all back.

She would take back all the things she'd ever said, done, thought, everything. None of it mattered anymore. She was dead. Her soul was just an flickering holograph of what she used to be, of what she'd ever been in her countless decades' worth of life. Nothing was of value to her anymore. Her words? Her memories? Her actions? Anyone could take them all away. She didn't care. She would do anything. All she wanted was to see _him_ again. Her brother.

Nico di Angelo, son of Hades.

She remembered that day, the day when the vice principal at her latest school, Westover Hall, had transformed from a somewhat tame, stiff man to a crazy, spike-throwing maniac. She remembered those four kids stomping onto the snow to save them. Five, she corrected herself. She'd forgotten about the satyr.

She remembered how it had flung itself overboard, with that one girl, Annabeth, still clinging to his back, her bronze knife poised with experience in one hand. She remembered the rushing whistle of metal, wood, and feathers against fur. The Hunters of Artemis.

And, most and worst of all, she remembered the fact that she had joined them.

She had been a fool, doing what she did. All those years of fending for herself and self-reliance had taken its toll. She was _tired_ of everything: of being the only one at school on Take Your Child To Work Day, of having no answer when kids and adults demanded the whereabouts of her parental guardians, of having to raise Nico all by herself.

Nico.

He had been completely devastated. She'd tried to explain _why_ she did it, why she'd left him for a band of teenage girls, that she needed some female influence in her life, but he wouldn't hear it.

"You don't have to explain anything," he'd said through angry tears. "You don't want me anymore. I can understand that. You've been waiting to get rid of me, haven't you?"

"Nico-" But he had gone.

If Bianca could turn back time, could start all over again, she'd take it all back: her words, her actions, the Hunters, _everything_. The only thing she wanted was to see Nico again. And tell him that she was sorry.

* * *

_And then that word grew louder and louder_  
'_Til it was a battle cry_

_I'll come back_  
_When you call me_  
_No need to say goodbye_

* * *

Nico was back in the Underworld.

Bianca could immediately tell from the squeals and giggles of other female ghosts, all jumping and hurrying to fix their hair and apply nonexistent makeup. One even fainted. Bianca had never thought that ghosts could faint. Well, she guessed they could.

According to Lee Fletcher, Nico had been making periodic trips to the Underworld on a regular basis, visiting his father and making rounds around the Fields about once every two weeks. "Didn't you know?" He'd quirked an eyebrow quizzically. "It's been a while now."

No, she hadn't. How had she not known? Was she really that scatterbrained, that uncaring, to completely skim over her brother visiting every fortnight? Sometimes, Bianca really hated herself.

"He's coming!" a high pitched voice whisper-shouted to her companions. "He's coming this way!"

Bianca glanced down from her perch on the pomegranate tree. A pale figure dressed in black had walked through the gates. His face held no emotion, his lips pursed, his hands jammed into the pockets of his ripped-up black leather jacket. His hair was tangled and unruly, as if he'd never brushed it once in his life. His eyes were dark, and deep like endless voids.

Bianca stared at him in shock. _What had happened to her brother?_

"You left him, that's what happened," a voice sneered at the back of her head. "You could've stopped it. You could have kept him as the happy, naive little boy with a constant smile and obsession for Mythomagic cards. But _no_, you had to leave, you had to go off on a quest and die because-"

"Shut up," she hissed to herself. Her eyes were still fixed on the shell of a boy below her.

He'd lost a lot of weight. Sure, he had always been skinny, but now- now he looked like a walking skeleton. Figures, she thought bemusedly. They were Hades' children after all.

He was walking towards the roots of the tree. Bianca held her breath.

Nico stopped, right at the foot of the tree. He glanced to the left. Then the right. Then at his feet.

_Look at me_, Bianca pleaded in her mind. _Talk to me._

Nico hesitated for a second, then turned around with a wide grin. "Hey, Beckendorf! What's up?"

Bianca felt herself break.

Nico continued to walk through the crowd of oncoming souls, greeting some warmly and merely acknowledging others with a nod of the head. The girl who'd fainted, a daughter of Aphrodite named Mikayla, launched herself at him with a full-force football tackle hug, only to be blasted backward into a stone wall.

Nico smirked. "Sorry, kiddo. I got a girl back at camp. Ten times who any girl ever was." He looked up to the tree for a second.

Bianca's eyes mirrored back at him.

Nico stared back, his eyes wide with resentfulness, fear, curiosity, and- _happiness_, Bianca realized with a start. But it was gone as quick as it came.

He quickly averted his gaze, shrugged his shoulders, and laughed nervously. "Ha-ha." He strode through the gates without a second glance.

Bianca curled into a ball and gripped her knees to her chest.

* * *

_Just because everything's changing_  
_Doesn't mean it's never_  
_Been this way before_

_All you can do's try to know_  
_Who your friends are_  
_As you head off to the war_

_Pick a star on the dark horizon_  
_And follow the light_

* * *

Why was he ignoring her? She knew he'd noticed him. His shocked eyes had given it away; she knew that much. But why?

It took all of her willpower not to jump down from her tree, to run after him, to yell his name and throw her arms around him, letting her tears show him how much she'd missed him. It didn't have to be this way. Why couldn't things be the way they used to? Just because the world around them was changing didn't mean that they had to.

But she only stared helplessly at his retreating figure.

At night, she wished upon the bright lights dotting the Underworld ceiling that she could- _would_ see him again. She knew they weren't stars, but for her, they were close enough.

* * *

_You'll come back_  
_When it's over_  
_No need to say good bye_

_You'll come back_  
_When it's over_  
_No need to say good bye_

* * *

It had been three years since her death. Three years since she'd been in that junkyard, three years since she'd discovered that she was a demigod, three years since she'd died locked up inside that stupid malfunctioning Talos prototype. And three years since she'd left Nico behind.

It had also been her birthday that day. She nearly laughed. Oh, the cruel irony.

She looked down at the dry, brittle black dirt of the Underworld ground. An etched picture of a birthday cake stared back at her. Eighty drawn lines of unlit candles seemed to brush away in the cold wind.

The daughter of Hades sighed. "Happy birthday, Bianca di Angelo."

* * *

_Now we're back to the beginning_  
_It's just a feeling and no one knows yet_  
_But just because they can't feel it too_  
_Doesn't mean that you have to forget_

_Let your memories grow stronger and stronger_  
_Til they're before your eyes_

* * *

The vortex was back.

Bianca sighed in exasperation. "Go away."

It only grew brighter, crackling with energy. It probably contained enough volts to shock Zeus himself. It centered itself around a dark hole, growing larger and smaller in inconsistent measures. It seemed to have a magnetic pull, as if luring ghosts to worlds beyond the mere figments of their imagination.

Bianca knew what they were. She'd seen other souls in Elysium walk into them and never return. She'd overheard Father in his palace on his cold, oh-so-impressive marble throne, mumbling about "restricting the vortex reincarnation rates." She'd tried to run away every time one came for _her._

But it returned. It always returned, each time more alluring and lucid than the last. And on her birthday. Always on her birthday.

Bianca sighed again. "I guess you're not going to leave me alone, huh?"

It grew again in response.

She huffed, blowing stray strands of black hair out of her olive-tanned face. "What if I don't _want_ to be reborn?"

It stayed there. The crackling sounded like laughing. It seemed to mock her, as if saying, "Really? Are you sure?"

Bianca wasn't so sure herself. She felt her fierce stance falter as she shakily uttered her next words. "I- Go away. Now."

But did she really want it to go away? Did she, really? What was so wrong with being reborn, anyway? It wasn't like-

Oh, right. She'd leave Nico behind. _Again._

But she wasn't doing him much good dead either. After all, wasn't her death what he'd feared the most? And now that she _was _dead- he couldn't even talk to her, much less look at her, without feeling as if he'd failed. Not after those three long years.

Was this all worth risking, all worth losing for the opportunity of having another life? She might never meet her Hunters, Percy, Grover, or Thalia ever again. And Nico would be all alone.

But- it could also help her unwind and redo her whole life, all of her mistakes and regretful actions. She could have good memories in place of the bad, feel happy and content instead of sickening and empty. She could make up everything she ever did.

And she could finally tell Nico that she was sorry.

She took a deep breath, then glanced warily at the vortex once more, as if afraid that it would vanish. "A-all right." She coughed shakily. "I'll do it."

As she walked forward, Bianca thought about hope, her friends, a new life. She told herself once more about how she could make everything up, make everything up for _him_.

She stepped through.

* * *

_You'll come back_  
_When they call you_  
_No need to say good bye_

_You'll come back_  
_When they call you_  
_No need to say good bye_

* * *

In a small apartment home in downtown Manhattan, newborn Lea Angelos woke up for the first time.

* * *

**Reviews, please!**


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